Barack Obama has spent more and cut taxes more than George W. Bush, right, did. |
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This was the pattern, in fact, for the major deficit-reduction agreements in the 1990s, but the delay in this case also serves to buy time to salvage months of work by the Gang of Six, of which Conrad is a member.

This bipartisan group has flirted for weeks with a final agreement on an ambitious deficit-reduction plan akin to the presidential debt commission’s report last December, tapping both revenues and spending cuts. As such, it posed a threat to leaders like McConnell, who had to be quietly delighted this week when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) suddenly opted out of the group, isolating the two remaining Republicans, Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

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Putting on brave faces, the survivors continue to meet. “We’re five guys who have been meeting, talking, deliberating for five months, and it’s hard just to, bam, cut it off,” Chambliss told POLITICO, but he allowed that “maybe nothing” will come of the effort and said he had no appetite for the group now issuing a report on the progress made. “We’re not going to issue a report of any sort,” Chambliss said.

In fact, such a report would only add to the risks he and Crapo have already incurred by taking a stand on revenues being part of the deficit mix. And Chambliss said Coburn has been so “integral” to the effort that getting him back in the fold is his first priority.

Absent that, one option under consideration, according to three senators, would be to expand the group substantially by inviting in concentric circles of additional Republicans and Democrats who have watched from the outside but have expressed support for the group’s work. No decisions have been made, the senators said, but this could jump-start the effort in time for it to be a force this summer or fall — depending on the debt ceiling talks.

The $6.2 trillion in accumulated deficits from 2002 through this year are certainly a big factor in the debt today — and in the needed debt ceiling increase. And CBO’s famous projection of surpluses during the same period has almost become part of Washington’s budget lore over the years.

But the little noticed table—posted last week—is the most detailed, up-to-date snapshot of how the world changed, beginning with the economy itself.

The largest single factor is a $3.4 trillion dropoff in projected revenues attributed by CBO to “economic and technical” changes. The year-by-year data reflect the economic downturn that Bush faced in his early years, and, under Obama, it accounts on average for about $680 billion annually.

Apart from the tax cuts and discretionary spending, nearly $1.4 billion in so-called mandatory spending is a fourth factor. These costs include the Medicare prescription drug benefit begun under Bush, the 2008 financial-rescue package, as well as expanded benefits — such as food stamps and jobless benefits — that have been part of Obama’s economic recovery effort. Most striking, the added cost of paying interest on the resulting deficits is almost as large: $1.37 trillion.

It's simple. We handed the Republicans the biggest SURPLUS IN HISTORY !!!!!

They blew it on 2 UNFUNDED WARS PUT ON THE CHINA CHARGE CARD!!!

Then instead of doing what every other president did, and raising war taxes to pay for them, Republicans slashed taxes for the rich!!!!

(Democrates forced them to give some tax cuts to the working class, even though they were in the minority then.)

Those tax cuts for the rich didnt create any jobs as they always claim, because we started hemoraging jobs to the tune of 700,000 A MONTH right before Obama was sworn in. (Of course the lying GOP like to cut it off for Bush at election day. And stick the millions of lost jobs on Obama before he was sworn in 2 months later)

Republicans crashing the entire worlds economies, then compounded the deficit under Obama because a crashed economy send the unemployed skyrocketing which means millions fewer paying taxes IN! PLUS you have the added expense exploding as you have to pay out for their unemployment bennefits.

NONE OF THE WAS OBAMAS DOING.

The other huge factor accortding to the CBO is the Republicans HUGE AND EXPENSIVE MEDICARE PART D PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL which made their donors RICH!!! BUT THEY DIDN'T PAY FOR IT JUST LIKE THEY DIDNT PAY FOR THE WARS OR TAX CUTS

FOR THE RICH!

Enter President Obama. The Republicans created the biggest economic meltdown IN HISTORY and America was crashing into 3rd world status.

Obama and the Bush TARP spending saved us and he was able to revers the Bush economic medltdown from turnibg us into a third world country.

Of COURSE he had to spend to stimulate the economy again. Gee. Thats what had to be done to save us. Now we are creating solid job growth month after month. 401K and stock portfoilos are fattening up again. Peoples retirement funds are being replenished.

The depth of the damage done under the Bush/Chaney/ Republican reign of 8 long years will take more than one presidents 2 terms in office to recover from. The world is changed and a lot of those jobs arent ever comming back. Thats the price we pay for GOP DEREGULATION and tax cuts for billionaires and launching wars for oil cronies contracts.

The difference of course being that Obama continues to spend more and more in spite of the dire economic and fiscal problems of this country, Submitting outrageous 3.5 Trillion annual budgets of which 1.65 Trillion are borrowed dollars is the last thing that a responsible leader should do. No to mention adding more and more government workers to the payroll , increasing the tax burdens on the half of Americans who pay Federal income tax , while the freeloading other half waits for their expected monthly gubmint check to show up in the mailbox.

And you are right in that Bush spent too much. He should not have signed the prescription drug bill, TARP, AIDS movey for Africa and the like. All accomplished with that spending was to finance more corruption and entitlement mentality. Bush should not have rubber-stamped the big spending bills coming out of the Pelosi/Reod congress. He should have used the veto pen. But he did not.

Yes, Bush spent too much. Way too much. Can't see how that justifies making any problems worse, though as Obama and the Democrats seem intent upon doing. There's little evidence to refute the plausible suspicion that following the Cloward-Piven blueprint for revolution. That destruction of the established order is their objective explains more and makes more sense than anything else at this point .

Here is the CBO chart. Notice the spending Obama was forced to do as a direct result of the GOP crashing the economy, is short term and drops off quickly. The Republican wars, tax cuts and unfunded medicare gift to Big Pharmacutical corporations and the lost revenue from killing taxpayers jobs goes on forever!!!!!

The smarter ones are the more malicious and destructive of the two. They are purposeful propagandists trying to divert attention away from the real issue, thereby preventing its solution and running interference such that others can continue to work their economic, social, and cultural sabotage. Where this not the case, they would not be so rabidly defending continuation of such outrageously unsustainable spending levels.

"How we got here". Good opening but no mention of the reason. We have been following a path of fiscal lunacy for fifty years. The Federal government has become the solution to everything and we've been running up the credit card since 1960. And I include everyone inside the DC beltway - no exceptions. So, here goes my broken record litany:

How many agencies, commissions, committees ad nauseam exist in the Federal government? What does each do? Is it absolutely necesary that the Federal government do this? What does each cost? Does anybody Know? Does anybody care? Yes, I will starve the kids. Throw granny under the bus. And most other overused cliches'. I love "draconian" cuts that amount to about one day's expenditures. This government is bloated. It has to be cut down. Anybody able to answer the questions in my litany? I'm not.

For starters, I have four candidates for gone. First the Department of Education. How many people has it ever educated? All I can see is the consumption of funds needed for education plus a stack of regulations and unfunded mandates that further dilute education funds. Department of Energy. There's a gem. What has it ever accomplished? Ever? As far as I can tell, DC is the only place where abject failures get increased budgets and power. The next two need no introduction. The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for Humanities. Does anyone know why either exists? I don't know the total budget - if the Senate ever gets off its' collective duff - for these four. Eliminating these will not solve the fiscal mess we've created, but it will make a dent.

Oh, and Amtrak just announced another bucket of red ink. $400 million. Another dent. And our wonderful government wants to add in high speed rail. Isn't that called doubling down?

Happy to respond to the liberal morons this evening. The treasonous Obama in his effort to bankrupt America is succeeding! Despite the effort to spend what ever he could any way he could he lowered taxes on the rich as part of deal because 2 years of unemployment was not enough for this con man. This is just one example of the work done by the worst president in history.

Why don,t you liberal loons self deport to a third world country before you turn the US into one.

In a yr and a half the President has averted the GREAT DEPRESSION 2 that the GOP handed him.

Our economic system is on the mend as anybody whos checked their 401k or stocks can tell you. Mine doubled last year! Nice!!!!

We are creating more jobs every month and the GOP who sabotaged our recovery after crashing it has slashed their own throats by their extremist rightwing agenda and GUTTING MEDICARE and MEDICAID which 2/3's of it pays for old folks homes. They really are out to kill grandma like they lied about for two yrs.

All this spells out more growth and a strengthening economy.

Dump these rightwing extremist hypocrites in a yr and a half and then let sane people, do the budget adustments for the long term.

Without gutting medicare, medicaid and social security..... as the Republicans have ALL voted to do.

Thank God working folks and old people have a president who actually cares about them and will stop the extremist rightwingers, from distroying America, even more than they already have.

Yes our country is in the worst recession sense the great depression. You the American people vote (in a good year maybe over 50%). Politicians suck in both party's. Clinton was and still is for NAFTA, our big business has been leaving America for years for country's with cheaper labor. It cost GM in the long haul. If they could have seen what sending the jobs of workers who used there pay to to buy there products, would they? During the Clinton, administration the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history.the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest inflation in 30 years, reduced welfare rolls. He proposed the first balanced budget in decades and achieved a budget surplus (that Bush destroyed). GOP out to destroy America and small business by brain washing there right wing followers not able to think for themselves.